RI Governor Don Carcieri just gave his State of the State speech tonight and spoke briefly on the Commuter Rail extension to Warwick and Wickford Jct.

From his speech:
"This year, I am also determined to break ground on new train station in Warwick and to move forward with a new one in Wickford. I want to see commuter rail extend from Boston to South County. The new Warwick station will be a national model for inter-modal transportation, linking air, rail, and highway."

Also from Nov. 2004 about the Pawtucket Station:
City weighs private development of train stationAn ordinance enabling the city to buy or condemn the train station was sidelined after a key City Council member expressed concern that city involvement would kill the first real private proposal to develop the property since 1987.

The article doesnt mention a commuter rail stop but I have to believe they will build one soon. Pawtucket really needs a station on the NEC. I would really like to see the station reopened and become a staffed station complete with a waiting room. The platforms and stairs still exist but would have to be rebuilt.

There was just an article in the Projo about the plan to build the shopping plaza at the old Pawtucket train station... under this plan the station would be demolished. Luckily the mayor is against the plan and blasted the city council for approving a zoning change on the site.

This statement from the article cannot possibly be correct: "No trains have stopped at the station since 1959, when the Penn Central Railroad went bankrupt." There was no Penn Central in 1959, and I've seen the Pawtucket stop on old MBTA commuter rail maps.

The last time any trains stopped in Pawtucket/Central Falls was 1981 before RI pulled funding for service. This is according to the well known article on Scott Moore's site.

That having been said, although the station may have been in use for service, often times they use the old station house when refering to the original station. I don't know when this station house at Pawtucket closed, but if it was in the 1950's the article, although somewhat misleading, may be true from a certain point of view.

Rich "Dino" Martin
A one time happy rider of Arborway and the old Washington St. El.